


The Map to the Stars Lies Within Your Eyes

by Paranoixa



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Also not explicitly stated, Developing Relationship, F/F, Post-Episode: s13e10 Wayward Sisters, Road Trips, Sharing a Bed, but it's there!, not explicitly stated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 23:45:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14681994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paranoixa/pseuds/Paranoixa
Summary: Claire and Kaia take a roadtrip.





	The Map to the Stars Lies Within Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what the fuck this is. I wanted this to be longer. Just keep that in mind as you get to the ending. On the bright side, I was actually gonna keep Kaia killed off ("the road trip was all a dream, and Claire's really fucked" kinda thing), so no angst for once!

The ceiling's collapsing.

Jagged lines race throughout the plaster, forming rigid mountains and valleys against the beige background; if Claire raises a finger, she'd spend hours leaping from one web of cracks to another, getting lost in both the similarity and distinction of each ridge. Even the act of watching the mess of a ceiling has drawn her ire, a mild pressure forming in the back of her head as she loses track of her place. A fine, white powder erupts from one of the cracks and falls over her head. Claire squints and makes to crawl out of her bed when the body within her arms suddenly moves.

Kaia's head tilts up. It's late, and, with the curtains drawn, the room is enveloped in darkness. Despite this, Claire can make out the faint twitch her lip gives; Kaia presses her fingers into Claire's armpit, tugging at the thin strands of gold she finds. Claire rolls her eyes and tightens her grip around her waist, dipping her head to rest against her collarbone.

"You're awake", she notes.

Kaia hums and pulls a single hair between her fingers. "It's an old building", she says. "It makes sense for it to be falling apart."  
"I guess." Another cloud of white rains down from above. It dusts over her hair and Kaia's nose; it draws a light chuckle from Kaia and an annoyed huff from Claire. Kaia sits up, disturbing the ratty blanket thrown over their bodies, and pulls her knees closer to her. Her denim jacket has slipped off her shoulders and bundled up against the small of her back. Her bare arms, exposed to the chilled air of the warehouse, burst with goosebumps, and her breath expels from her mouth in a thick mist. "Never been this far north before", she eventually replies as her eyes dart to meet Claire's. They're like two great big lakes of murky syrup, staring Claire with a lethargy that only emerges after a dreamless sleep.

Claire slides her hand between them and tangles Kaia's fingers with hers. She lifts them to her face and presses them against her cheek. Kaia's eyes flutter shut, and she sighs. Her legs wrap around Claire's waist, and she rubs her thumb against the outside of Claire's thumb. Claire lines their fingers up against each other. "What are you thinking about", she asks as she begins to rock their intertwined bodies side to side.

Kaia smiles sleepily. She tilts her head up to press a firm kiss upon Claire's lips and hums once more. "You. And Jody and the girls. But you, mostly."  
"Ah. Good thoughts, right?"

A small piece of plaster clatters to the floor beside them. She pulls the blanket back over them and drops her head against Claire's stomach. "Yeah. All good thoughts."

. . .

The smudges beneath Kaia's eyes have begun to fade. The scars adorning her body have scabbed over; the ever present apathy sketched across her features is frequently disrupted by faint smiles. She's eating more often, and of her own desire no less, and it's been a few days since her last nightmare. Claire never says much of it. Likewise, Kaia never notes the change in Claire; she spends an hour on the phone before bed each night, sometimes phoning home to the girls and sometimes catching up with Castiel. Regardless, she always joins Kaia shortly afterward, her body lighter than it's been throughout the day. But Kaia never speaks of it, and Claire never speaks of the change in Kaia, and so they both don't speak, and it's both a lovely and horrid thing.

And it's still so fucking cold.

Stepping outside of the warehouse, Claire rubs her palms over her arms and shivers. Scoops of snow spill over the sides of her combat boots. The snow is a tantalizing presence against her exposed ankles, brisk and gelid like the fingers of death have snatched hold of them. The cold hadn't been as bad when she'd been in bed, surrounded by several layers of clothing and an equally warm layer of Kaia. Now, Kaia stands just a few meters away, her back pressed against the door of their as-yet-to-be purchased Ford. With her jacket pulled tightly around her middle and her mouth quivering from the chattering of her teeth, she looks as cold as Claire feels. Claire crosses the gravel pathway as quickly as she can, retrieving her keys from her back pocket and chirping the truck. Kaia sighs, tugs the door open, and crawls into the driver's seat.

"Were you waiting long", Claire questions as she inserts her key into the ignition.

Kaia shakes her head; her fingers tremble as they flick on the heating system, and she gives a full-body shudder. "N-No. Just-Just a few minutes."

"Right." Claire turns in her seat and, after struggling for a moment, snatches the strap of her duffel bag. She pulls it up front with them, sorts through it, then tosses their blanket at Kaia. "You suck at lying", she taunts as she pulls out of the abandoned lot.

Kaia lets out an airy laugh. Pulling their blanket closer to her, she buckles her seatbelt and retorts, "And you suck at time management. We-We were supposed to be on the road two hours ago."

"My phone died", she defends with a shrug. From the glare she receives, she knows Kaia (rightfully) doesn't believe this. Before anymore can of from the topic, Claire flicks on the radio. A Katy Perry song bursts through the speakers; Claire pulls a face, Kaia snickers, and snow flurries begin to dot the windshield.

Kaia settles deeper into her seat and sighs, looking up out of the window.

Claire glances over at her and says, "I was thinking we could drive down to Chicago. It's still cold as shit, but it could be nice."  
"All right."  
"And, you know, they've got pizza and that, uh, Bean thingy. And museums. Emphasis on the 's' cause there's a fuck ton of 'em, they've even got one that's got dinosaurs. Oh, and planetariums and those water zoos, gotta love those. Just, you know, big city, lots to do."  
Kaia turns back to her. Her face barely visible in the blanket cocoon, she says, "This your way of buttering me up into going on a hunt?"  
Claire's grip on the steering wheel tightens; the fuzzy fabric of the cover introduces a rash to the palms of her hand, but she doesn't relent. Eyes trained on the curving road stretching ahead of them, she admits, "Maybe. Is it that obvious?"  
"You ramble when you're nervous. Or lying. Or nervous about lying."  
Claire scoffs and tosses a Twix wrapper at her forehead. "Shut up."  
"No need to get pissy."

"But seriously. Chicago? In or out?"

Kaia kicks off her Timberlands and flexes her toes out in front of her. "In. But we'd get the pizza first, right?"

Claire laughs, brushing her hair out of her face. She nods as the truck begins to climb uphill and tosses her arm behind her headrest. "Definitely." Then, eyes flicking back to her, she asks, "You sure you're up for this?"  
"Why wouldn't I be?"  
"I dunno, man. You just, you seem like you're feeling better. I don't wanna set you back."  
"Mm." Kaia looks at Claire in the rearview mirror. Claire keeps her eyes on the road ahead but is immensely aware of earnest expression. "Well", Kaia begins, raising a hand to cover her mouth as a yawn escapes me.  
"You're gonna be there with me, ain't you?"

"Course."  
She lowers her hand and stretches it over the sticky cup holders between them. Claire accepts it without a moment's hesitation, her belly recoiling from the sudden heat dispersing within it. The Ford pulls onto a thin stretch of road, tires crackling beneath sharp pebbles, and the heat finally kicks in; the fan sputters, dispersing several clouds of dust throughout the truck, and Kaia lets out a content purr. With her head tilted towards Claire, she says, "Then I'll be fine."

Claire smiles back at her. A few stray snowflakes fly in through the crevice in the window and glide over to Kaia. It lands on her cheek, dissolving upon impact. Kaia blinks three times, lifts her left hand to swipe over the damp spot, then pulls her fingers away. She stares with detached fascination, and her lips pull back, a flash of white teeth emerging. Claire's heart stumbles, and she adjusts their hands so Kaia's rest atop of hers. "Looks like someone's caught a snowflake."  
"Yeah. Too bad they melt so fast." Her lashes flutter, and she sighs. "I never have enough time to study them."  
"Well. Maybe someday, you will. You can scoop some in a jar and take it to some lab to look at it under a microscope."  
"That'd be cool."  
"Yeah?"  
"Yeah."

. . .

Kaia doesn't talk much, so Claire fills the air with a ceaseless stream of chatter. If not for the delighted crinkles surrounding her eyes or the stifled snorts Kaia releases every time Claire opens her mouth, Claire would think the babbling was more grating than comforting. But each time she falls silent, cheeks pink and muscles taut with nerves, Kaia looks over at her, smiles, and places her hand over hers. And with the tenderness of a koala reassuring her cub, she scratches her nails over the back of Claire's hand and says, "Keep going". There's always a note of urgency behind her words; a hue of distress coloring her tone that says what the abandoned "please" is prevented from relaying. Kaia doesn't say much, but everything she leaves unsaid fills in the blanks. And it's such an odd thing; to understand someone so completely, so wholly, without actually speaking to them. But at the same time, it's also comforting. After years of feeling so misunderstood, it pays to have found solace in someone just as lost, so as tortured as she. And each night, as Kaia pulls her close drags timorous fingers over the crooks and crevices that define Claire, she knows.

She knows she feels the same.


End file.
